The once-popular route served 600 riders a day in each direction, but that number has since dwindled to about 175, she said, and without enough fares to offset the costs, it is no longer feasible to run. She would not say how much the service costs to operate.

"It's like a restaurant with no customers," Ms. Daly said. "The ridership has been really weak in the last year."

Service will continue to be maintained at current levels until the end of the year, she said. About a dozen bus drivers who work the route will be absorbed by the company's X23 and X24 routes, the city-subsidized routes which AE runs.

The South Shore-to-Manhattan AE7 route initially began out of the Showplace park-and-ride in Travis, but was moved to the Pleasant Plains park-and-ride in 2003.

The route lost some riders in that move, Ms. Daly said, and the number has continued to drop off over the years, despite an effort in January to expand service to nine more stops in the Tottenville area which failed to yield new passengers.

"We are extremely grateful to our loyal customers and the great people of Staten Island for all of their support and patronage over the years on the AE7," said Atlantic Express President Domenic Gatto, who said he hopes commuters will switch over to the X23 and X24.

Those two routes, along with New York City Transit's express bus routes, cost $5.50 each way. The AE7 costs $6 each way in cash, with multiple ride discount tickets available.

The company said refunds will be available for AE7 riders who purchased tickets that aren't used by the end of the year.